Saws, and in particular chop-type saws, utilize various guards to minimize blade exposure. For example, a chop-type miter saw may include an upper guard covering the upper half of a circular saw blade. As the saw is utilized, a lower rotating guard pivots to allow the blade to contact the workpiece. A drawback to the previous system is that an upper or fixed guard may interfere with the saw's vertical cutting ability. For instance, an upper guard may contact the top of the workpiece without the blade extending through the workpiece. The saw's vertical cutting ability may be limited in order to cover the blade adjacent the top portion of the fence. As a result, a user may be prevented from disposing a large dimension workpiece against the fence or minimize the capacity to cut crown molding when angled against the fence. This limited capacity may lead to user dissatisfaction and may even require the user to reposition the workpiece in order to finish the cut. Moreover, some guard systems may become clogged with debris during use or fail to properly direct the dust into a containment system, such as a vacuum duct. Saws utilizing a fixed upper guard may expose a portion of the blade where the blade exits the workpiece depending on the size of the workpiece or have an extension which protrudes towards a lower rear quadrant adjacent the base/positioning fence. While an extension may cover the blade, the saw's vertical capacity may be unduly limited if the extension contact the upper surface of the workpiece.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a pivoting blade guard for maximizing cutting capacity.